US Republican Senator John McCain said that President Bashar al-Assad has the upper hand in the fight against the foreign-backed armed groups, as he noted that the Syrian leader is unlikely to step down.

“We are seeing unfortunately a battlefield situation where Bashar Assad now has the upper hand, McCain said in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.
He added that Assad is unlikely to step down, which is what the US and its allies want him to do.

McCain, who last week surreptitiously visited Syria, urged the administration of President Barack Obama to intervene immediately in the Syrian crisis, claiming that the longer the US waited the more the situation was unraveling.

Concerning Damascus’ participation in Geneva International Conference, which is aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis, McCain said:” “Anyone that believes that Bashar Assad is going to go to a conference in Geneva when he is prevailing on the battlefield, it’s just ludicrous to assume that.”

Earlier on Friday, the US Senator said the militants fighting the Syrian government were in dire need of “ammunition and heavy weapons” as the government troops are gaining ground in the crisis-hit country.

“There’s no doubt that they (the militants) need some kind of capability to reverse the battlefield situation, which right now is in favor of Assad,” he said.

The “Syrian Revolution General Commission” announced its withdrawal from the Syrian opposition body of the National Coalition on Monday. It accused the opposition leaders of misusing funds and pursuing personal ambitions.

SRGC considered, in a statement, that the Coalition’s initiatives do not fit the real nature and goals of the so-called revolution.

“We are withdrawing from the Coalition… because it is taking initiatives far removed from the true revolution and cannot represent the revolution in an authentic way.”

“Money has been wasted on the personal interests of the Coalition members who are more concerned with appearing in the media than helping the revolution,” teh statement added.

SRGC said that the Coalition violated the agreement on increasing the number of the representatives of the Syrian militants in the coalition during last meeting in Istanbul.

SRGC also accused some countries of “utilizing the Syrian revolution for its own interests” and exerting pressure on the Syrian opposition “without taking the true aims of the revolution into consideration.”